Citizen Celebrates Black History Month With Annual ’50 for 50′ Initiative

February is Black History Month (BHM) in North America. This year’s official theme,  Black Resistance, highlights how Black communities continue to resist systemic oppression in North America while taking action towards racial equity. 

At Citizen Relations, we provided $50 to each Citizen in North America to spend at a Black-owned business during BHM. Citizens were also able to access initiatives organized by Plus Company and the Black Employee Resource Group (BERG), including educational content focused on the impact of systemic racism in our communities, workshops on anti-Black racism, as well as opportunities for Black employees to connect on a variety of topics. 

We recognize that celebrating Black communities and anti-racism and racial equity work has to go beyond the month of February. We also acknowledge the role that communication agencies have played in perpetuating biases, stereotypes and racism. Lastly, we recognize the power we have to highlight stories and shape conversations that promote racial equity and anti-racism in our communities and create equitable and inclusive workplaces. 

We are committed to: 

• Increasing representation of equity-deserving communities in our workplace by addressing barriers and biases in our recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding processes as well as our work culture. 
• Utilizing an intersectional lens to foster an inclusive, accessible, and anti-racist workplace where all Citizens feel a sense of belonging. 
• Tracking and reporting on supplier diversity to ensure we support businesses owned by equity-deserving communities. 
• Embedding EDI and anti-racism lenses in our client work from ideation to implementation.
• Highlighting Indigenous, Black and other racialized influencers, creatives and business-owners in our work.